Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ogden Ethics Project Candidate Checklist Clarification

At risk of over-simplifying the issues here, we've boiled it all down

We received the following missive this morning from Ogden Ethics Project Director Dan Schroeder, augmenting the info provided in Monday's Ogden Ethics Project press release:
On Monday I sent a press release summarizing candidate responses to inquiries from the Ogden Ethics Project, Regarding our Voluntary Contribution Limitations Checklist. The press release gave only a general summary of the range of responses, without using candidates' names. We waited to release the details for a variety of reasons, but they're available now, linked from the "resources" page on our web site:

http://ogdenethics.org/resources.html

Be sure to read the disclaimers!

Dan Schroeder, director
At risk of over-simplifying the issues here, we've boiled it all down; and here are the checklists from the 11 candidates who "neither hemmed nor hawed" (on the ethics issues set forth in what your blogmeister considers to be five fairly straightforward queries), and who in apparent honesty and good faith returned the checklists with the appropriate boxes filled in:

Mayor's Race:
Mike Caldwell
Brandon Stephenson
Susan Van Hooser
Steven Van Wagoner*

Council At Large Seat "C"
Jacob Culliton*
Landon Halverson
Stephen D. Thompson
Amy L. Wicks*

Council Ward 2
Jennifer Neil*
C. Jon White*

Council Ward 4
Caitlin Gochnour*

Within the above group of eleven, only six of them however, namely candidates Culliton, Wicks, Neil, White, Gochnour and Van Wagoner, were willing to check all the boxes and pledge to adopt the highest ethical standards. The bulk of the rest either bristled at the concept of refusing corporate or other non-individual campaign donations, or otherwise and in separate "position statements" obfuscated and/or found philosophical "angels on the heads of pins" with regard to these issues... as far as we're concerned. Of course candidates Hyer, Hansen and Wallis didn't even bother to respond in any manner at all, a course of non-action which some cynics might interpret as indicative of the low level of attention which they might also devote to their public offices, if elected to the respective Mayoral and Council seats which they seek.

That's our take and we're stickin' with it.

So who will be the first to comment about these most recent developments?
-----------
*Candidates who checked all five boxes.

© 2005 - 2014 Weber County Forum™ -- All Rights Reserved